The Importance of SOC 2 Type II in a Print & Mail Partner
There are a lot of things that go into selecting a print partner for your business. From quality and selection to partnerships and even their relationship with the Postal Service, diversity, flexibility, sustainability, and more, everyone out there has pros and cons.
But what about security? Why should you care if your printer is SOC 2 Type II Compliant? Why should you care that the company handling your mail spends six months and six figures every year to get a 90-page analysis of processes, procedures, policies, and protections?
The simple answer is this: Data isn’t the new oil. It’s the new uranium. In the right hands, it powers businesses. In the wrong hands, it’s insanely dangerous.
No matter what industry you’re in, no matter what level of security you actually need, working with a SOC 2 Type II certified vendor is an easy way to get more with less risk. Today, we’ll explain why.
SOC 2: A Brief Introduction
SOC stands for System and Organization Controls, and refers to a few different reports guided by the American Institute of Certified Professional Accountants, or AICPA. We’ve highlighted it before, but it’s a standard that was created to help companies prove they are adequately protecting data.
And while SOC 1 applies to financial statements and reporting, and SOC 3 provides a generalized report, SOC 2 pertains to customer data.
What Is SOC 2?
A SOC 2 report, and as we’ll explain later, SOC 2 Type II, is the most stringent of the reports and helps organizations prove information security against the AICPA’s five Trust Services Criteria: security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy.
Depending on the complexity of handling, infrastructure, and the processes in place, a SOC 2 audit might evaluate 60-100 controls within those five TSC.
Whether an organization refers to a successful completion of a SOC 2 audit and review as SOC 2 compliance, SOC 2 certification, or receiving a SOC 2 attestation report, it means the same thing: The systems and controls in place are confirmed to be secure by an independent third-party review.
Why “Type II”?
For some organizations, a Type I report suffices, verifying that controls are designed properly at a single point in time. Affordable and able to be completed in a couple weeks, it’s a quick way to verify security. However, when real proof is needed, a Type II report sets a company apart.
Rather than evaluating controls and processes at a point in time, Type II evaluates controls and processes over an extended period of time. Every year, an organization has to work with an auditor over the course of 3-12 months to demonstrate ongoing security.
And instead of simply evaluating systems, a Type II report focuses on five areas: Infrastructure, software, people, data, and procedures.
Compared to a Type I report, a Type II report requires additional time and investment. But it matters to us—and it matters to thousands of other security-minded and customer-focused organizations.
How Does a Company Get Proven as SOC 2 Type II Compliant?
The short answer? Spend a lot of money, spend anywhere from three to twelve months making claims about your controls and processes, undergo an audit, make fixes, and get a report. Repeat every year.
This starts with scoping procedures, in which a company determines applicable trust principles with the help of a certified CPA. If there are any gaps in the processes and controls, the auditor will identify them and create a remediation plan. Then the fun begins.
Steps three and four of the process involves the examination/audit of design controls and systems relevant to the trust principles, and deliver a report on an organization’s execution. For us, this 90-plus page report discusses our present and ongoing activities to protect data and secure systems.
Is a SOC 2 Type II Report Required?
Technically, your print and mail partner doesn’t need to go through the process. But think of it this way: We can talk about taking security seriously. Or we can get independent, third-party proof.
And as we work with companies who need it, SOC 2 Type II is required in practice.
Benefits of Working with a SOC 2 Type II Verified Print & Mail Partner
So why would you want to work with a SOC 2 Type II certified print and mail vendor? Peace of mind, the ability to uncover process improvements, and because said certification is usually part of a bigger promise.
Rest Easy
You care about your data. And any company you partner with should as well. This report proves our ability to protect our, your, and your clients’ data.
And SOC 2 Type II Compliance is just one of our many security certifications and attestations. Alongside our HITRUST Certification, PCI DSS Certification, and HIPAA, FISMA, and FERPA Compliance,
Benefits beyond Security
The audit process is stressful. Consultants spend months going through every facet of a company’s operations to create a SOC 2 Type II report. While yes, the process does verify that a company delivers on its security promises, it also uncovers opportunities to streamline business processes and improve operations.
Another One of those Extras Baked into Our Agreements
When you partner with Sepire, you get all the benefits we provide to our biggest and most stringent clients. So maybe you don’t need 100% mailpiece verification, unmatched security, quality, and commitment to execution. But you get them—and you get them at a reasonable price. That’s just part of who we are and how we work.
Security is Part of Who We Are
Did you know that in Latin, Sepire means “to protect”? And as a print provider with a wide range of data protection certifications, we live by our ability to protect your data. Physical security, data security, application security and more, you can rest easy knowing that your extremely valuable data is in safe, capable hands. Plus, we’re not just secure, we’re adept at printing.
We work with a significant number of clients in the healthcare space — an industry especially targeted by cyber-attacks. As part of our ongoing commitment to secure client data and attain the highest level of security for the management of private health information (PHI), Sepire has achieved HIPAA compliance, as well as HITRUST certification. Ready to learn more about who we are? Let’s chat.